On UH Hilo campus Dec. 3, from left, Jeanne Kapela, Stephanie Kim, Chris Todd, Kalbert Young, Lisa Kitagawa, with Bonnie Irwin and Kalei Rapoza leading the campus tour. (Photo: University Relations/UH Hilo)
Chancellor Bonnie Irwin and Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs Kalei Rapoza hosted three state legislators on the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus Dec. 3, 2024.
The delegation included State House Representatives Lisa Kitagawa, Chris Todd, and Jeanné Kapela. Also with the group was University of Hawaiʻi System Vice President for Budget and Finance Kalbert Young, and UH Director of Government Relations Stephanie Kim.
Rep. Kitagawa is House Majority Whip and serves as Capital Improvement Projects manager for the House Finance Committee. Rep. Todd is the Minority Caucus Leader. Rep. Kapela is Vice Chair of the Higher Education and Technology Committee.
The representatives toured a residence hall room, the main campus, and the UH Hilo Agricultural Farm Laboratory in Panaʻewa.
“Rep. Kitagawa was particularly interested in some of the capital improvements for which UH Hilo is seeking support,” says Chancellor Irwin. “It always helps to see things in person, so that our legislators understand the particular needs of our campus and our community.”
The group was welcomed on campus with Native Hawaiian protocols led by Pele Harman, UH Hilo’s Director of Native Hawaiian Engagement, and Kekoa Harman, Associate Professor of Hawaiian Studies and Hawaiian Language. (Photo: University Relations/UH Hilo)Kalei Rapoza talks to the group during a tour of the UH Hilo Agricultural Farm Laboratory in Panaʻewa. (Photo: University Relations/UH Hilo)
With the many sister cities that Hilo has, this is truly not only a diverse community, but also an international one. The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo plays a big part in that, through our academic programs, the opportunities our students have to study abroad, and through the international guests, students, and scholars we welcome here on campus.
UH Hilo has 40 international exchange partners, and international universities and communities are often coming to us to foster additional partnerships. We are all enriched through these international relationships, which are a key element in UH Hilo being the diverse campus it is.
Our campus celebrates our international community through events and exchange programs year round.
Each October we celebrate United Nations Day with a Parade of Nations featuring delegations of students wearing their traditional attire and holding high the flags of their countries. The students also share song, dance, arts, crafts, and information from their homelands. UH Hilo has about 250 international students this year from nearly 40 different countries around the world, and this year’s event highlighted their presence on campus and brought everyone together — participants and the larger campus population — as one university community living in peace and dignity.
Another annual event is International Education Week, held in November. This year, international books and food were celebrated and shared; students held a photo contest with images brought back from their international exchange experiences; a workshop taught Chinese calligraphy; a block party shared music, games and crafts; a panel of National Student Exchange and Study Abroad alumni shared their experiences on exchange; and an International Night Market celebrated an array of cultures through food sampling, crafts, fashion and performances (including UH Hilo’s Jazz Orchestra!).
Our Host Family Program matches our international students with families in the local community who help the newcomers acclimate to our island and culture. Hosts provide home-cooked meals and supportive conversations, sightseeing and shopping trips, meet-ups and talk-throughs, all cultivating a feeling of ʻohana (family) for both hosts and students. Nearly 100 new international students from 19 countries have enrolled at UH Hilo this year, and each one is met with aloha, welcomed and supported throughout their time with us.
International students also contribute to our island and communities through their research and internships. Recently, marine science major Manuela Cortes, who hails from Columbia, interned and conducted research with the National Park Service here on Hawaiʻi Island. Two student-athletes in men’s tennis, Agustin Gentile from Argentina and Filippo DiPerna from Italy, interned with the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on Hawaiʻi Island. Three international students at the College of Business and Economics — Jing Feng from China, Ginate Mahuru from Papua New Guinea, and Basil Tavake from Solomon Islands — completed a program funded by the National Science Foundation that focused on developing highly successful artificial intelligence chatbots for UH Hilo business students seeking academic advising or career advice.
Our campus also welcomes international visiting scholars: for example, political scientist Maria Armoudian from the University of Aukland, New Zealand, was on campus for the month of October sharing with students and the public her expertise on human rights and environmental policy. Innovative artist Hung Keung, based in Hong Kong, has worked with students and welcomed the public to his exhibition on 3D videos and lectures.
This international community at UH Hilo adds to the rich diversity on campus and primes all our students to thrive here in Hawaiʻi while preparing them to be global citizens.
Further, several of our Hawaiʻi and other U.S. resident students are currently scholarship recipients traveling abroad to expand their own education. Kyson Kaneko (Business), Brooklyn Geiger (Japanese Studies), and Dominic Hilman (Linguistics) are studying respectively at Tokyo Gakugei University, Nanzen University, and Hokkaido University in Japan; Leiya Margareth Torrano (Business) is at the University of Birmingham in England; and Whitney Taylor (English) is studying at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Korea.
We take pride in the diversity at UH Hilo and in preparing our students for a productive life in a global society.
One of the issues around student success that has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years is “belongingness.” Students flourish when they believe they belong in college and are comfortable being there. If they feel like outsiders, they will repeatedly question their competence, their future, and any number of other things. In that regard, students at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo are no different than other people in other communities. We all feel better about ourselves and our chances for success if we believe we are meant to be in a place and have good relationships with the people who surround us.
Belongingness efforts at a university begin long before students apply for admissions. It is important that we have keiki and families visiting our campus to be more comfortable in our spaces and see what role we can play in their futures. Our faculty and staff often visit local high schools to connect with students and help them find the best pathway into college life.
The pandemic made belonging a challenge. While we can create community online, it is certainly more challenging, and certain events just had to be suspended or changed. For the last two years, however, we have brought back in-person classes, student-led campus events that address social issues such as domestic violence and civic engagement, theater performances that bring together people of different cultures, outreach activities that strengthen our ties to the community, internships connecting our students to local organizations, seminars and forums covering local topics that encourage dialogue and the sharing of manaʻo and ideas.
This semester we’ve also opened a new outdoor eating area conducive to interaction, are holding a series of mini concerts on the library lanai for people to connect through music, and launched volunteer campus beautification activities grounded in the Native Hawaiian values of kōkua in the spirit of laulima (many hands working together).
Our longstanding community programs have also relaunched post-pandemic, all of which engender a sense of connection and belonging.
Returning last year after a two-year hiatus is a summer tradition for nearly 50 years that connects us with the keiki of the Hilo community. The annual Coach Jimmy Yagi Vulcan Basketball Camp, named for late UH Hilo Hall of Fame Coach Yagi, is a four-day camp for boys and girls aged 9-17 to inspire team spirit through drills, games, contests and a host of motivational speakers. The camps also strengthen youth basketball on Hawaiʻi Island, an important activity for keiki health, building character and a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves, preparing next generations for their place in our island communities.
Magnificent Me is sponsored by the Zonta Club of Hilo to help adolescent girls build their confidence. The half-day conference brings about 100 middle-school girls from East Hawaiʻi to UH Hilo for workshops that teach the importance of developing a strong sense of self and inspire participants to build their confidence “tool box.”
Our annual Barrio Fiesta, just held on Oct. 26, celebrates Filipino American History Month and features music, dance, Filipino attire, and an array of engaging activities that showcase the richness of Filipino culture. Attended by a wide range of people from the university and our local community, the event is hosted by several academic programs and Filipino cultural groups from throughout Hawaiʻi Island. Itʻs a wonderful annual celebration to bring together the local Filipino-American community in Hilo.
In October, we also hosted the 11th Annual Pacific Youth Empowerment for Success (PacYES) conference. The event welcomes a large group of local high school students of Pacific Islander heritage and offers a day of workshops, speakers, and break out sessions on vocational opportunities, financial aid for college, and more. The activities motivate, inspire, and prepare the students for college and career opportunities and also foster their cultural connections within their own communities.
In my remarks at the PacYES event, I encouraged the students to listen with intention, think and dream about what their voyage will be, letting them know that there are teams of people ready and waiting to help them realize their dreams. This is basically the sentiment of all our events, both internal and external: UH Hilo is a place to connect with others, a place to belong and flourish, and we welcome all into our university ʻohana.
Standing at center left are Chancellor Bonnie Irwin and UH Vice President Vassilis Syrmos (in lei) with members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaiʻi and leadership from UH Hilo on Oct. 4, 2024, in Hilo. (Courtesy photo of JCCIH)
At the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaiʻi meeting on Oct 4 in Hilo, guest speaker was University of Hawaiʻi Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos who gave a talk on the UH System’s record-breaking extramural funding totaling $615.7 million in fiscal year 2024.
The funding will be used by the UH System to create and expand programs throughout the state. In his talk, “Research and Innovation at the University of Hawaiʻi,” VP Syrmos spoke about how will that impact the people of Hilo and Hawaiʻi Island and how it will benefit the economy.
At Octoberʻs Chamber CA$H MOB at Hilo bookstore Basically Books, are from left, Chamber Executive Director Carla Kuo, Chancellor Bonnie Irwin, Professor of Linguistics Scott Saft, Director of Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language Kaʻiu Kimura, Professor of Hawaiian Studies Pila Wilson (at back right), and Basically Books owner Christine Reed. Oct. 31, 2024. (Courtesy photo)
Chancellor Bonnie Irwin attended today’s Chamber CA$H MOB at Basically Books on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo.
Whatʻs a Chamber CA$H MOB?? In support of local businesses, each month a group of Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce members meet at a local member’s business to make purchases to support not only the business but also the overall community.
“I’m rarely available when they do them, but I made today’s at Basically Books and brought some friends!” says Chancellor Irwin, who is a director on the Chamber’s board. “It is a pleasure to turn out to support local businesses!”
